Ash Wednesday February 17, 2021

Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, has issued this instruction on the modification of the distribution of ashes for this year. It follows the ancient and biblical custom of sprinkling ashes on the top of the head. Ashes are not to be distributed by touching the forehead, either with the hand or other instrument.

After blessing the ashes and sprinkling them with holy water in silence, the priest addresses those present, reciting once the formula found in the Roman Missal: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”. At that point, the note continues, the priest* “cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask, and distributes ashes to those who come to him or, if appropriate, he goes to those who are standing in their places.”
He then sprinkles the ashes on each person’s head “without saying anything.”

*While the instruction says "priest", this does not exclude the use of deacons and extraordinary ministers in the distribution of ashes according to the provisional method described. Only the priest would say the formula, once, while the others may assist in sprinkling the ashes without saying anything.

Reference: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-01/ash-wednesday-coronavirus-note-distribution-ashes.html